Erection frames for sectional towers



Oct. 28, 1958 w. B. SHEARD 2,857,994

ERECTiON FRAMES FOR SECTIONAL TOWERS Filed March 8. 1954 e Sheets-Sheet 1 lu's ATTORNEY Oct. 28, 1958 w. B. SHEARD 2,857,994"

ERECTION FRAMES FOR SECTIONAL TOWERS Filed March 8. 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 3f! .4. 0 34a 4 r r, 51c 134A 500/ v 34 a 205 0 59 m J0 534 i 70 4 5a 62 111 1 a I 5261 :95. J40 I 4; j l u 106- a 2% .345 b "4 346176 0 7 l 8 5 J36 .500 ,lfl @I J9 516 J o .340 48- 3 v INVENTOR hi ATTORNEY Oct. 28,- 1958' w. B. SHEARD 2,857,994

ERECTION FRAMES FOR SECTIONAL. TOWERS Filed March 8. 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 SIDE A INVENTQR 55c b/J ATTORNEY 'Oct. 28, 1958 w. B. SHEARD' 2,357,994

ERECTION FRAMES FOR SECTIONAL TOWERS Filed March 8. 1954 I s Sheets-Sheet 5 'III llllll'llllllll 1 r Ink ATTORNEY i Oct. 28', 1958 Filed March 8. 1954 w. B. SHEARD 2,857,994

ERECTION FRAMES FOR SECTIONAL TOWERS 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR lfl's ATTORNEY United States Patent ERECTION FRAMES FOR'SECTIONAL TOWERS William Byl Sheard, Pleasantville, N. Y., assignor to The Patent Scaffolding Co., Inc., Long Island City, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 8, 19.54, .SerialNo. 414,810

4 Claims. (Cl. 189-42) This invention relates to frames for erecting sectional 'towers.

It is known to erect towers in sections and to support the 'so erected towers at certain intervals with gu-y lines which are fastened to the ground. The erection of such towers always has been a lengthy and costly process since one section had to be lifted upon the other, this requiring scaffold structures and hoisting means and being connected with danger for the crew working above the ground.

This invention provides a novel erection frame for sectional towers which is easily assembled and disassembled in the shortest period of time, by means of which the .tower sections may be assembled by starting with the section which will form the upper terminal of the as- :sernbled structure, and terminating with the section which will form the lower terminal of the assembled tower rstructure.

The novel erection frame for erection of such towers gpermits erection of a sectional structure without requiring the crew to work at a considerable distance from :theground. This novel frame, which consists of the same :number of side walls as the structure intended to be erected, .is somewhat higher than one tower section in :order'to guide such tower section or the lowermost of a :number of joined tower sections within its walls, when rsuch section or sections .have been lifted within the frame :somewhat in excess of the height of one section. I he invention also provides hoisting means, such as cradle aunits and winches for lifting the tower sections within [1116 erection frame. 1

When a sectional tower is to be .erected by the use of ithe novel frame, a base is formed, first, the erection frame whose height somewhat exceeds the height of 0116 tower section is assembled thereon, the :uppermost :section is placed into the erection frame and lifted above its own'height, the next section is inserted below the up- ;permost one and the upper section llowered thereon .and :secnred .to the 'upper .end thereof. Then the .two aup'permost sections are lifted a distance in excess of the height of one section and the third section placed into the frame, with the lifting member, preferably a cradleop- 'erable by a winch or the like, always attached to --the lowermost unit of the assembled sectional structure. The two upper 'sections'are lowered onto this "third section and secured thereto. This process is repeated until the tower structure has reached the desired height.

The novel erection frame will be more fully described hereinafter, the embodiments thereof shown in the draw ings, and the invention will be finally pointed out in the appended claims.

,-In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view, showing a sectional tower after the erection frame has been removed therefrom, said tower supporting at its top a reflector to indicate one use to which such tower may be put;

Fig. 2 shows diagrammatically a section along line vention.

quire.

stability of the tower at this considerable height.

2,857,994 Patented Oct. 28, 1958 2 2-2 of Fig. 1 indicating one method of arraying the guy lines attached to the tower frame;

Fig. 3 is a section along line 3-3 of Fig. '1, showing another arrangement of guy line connections to the frame;

Fig. 4 is a top view of Figs. 6, 8 or '9, showing the assembled erection frame with the platform, the winch for lifting the tower sections and one tower section with in said frame;

Fig. 5 is a section along line 55 ofFig, "8;

Fig. 6 is a side view of the erection. frame showing one section lifted above the next section before connecting the two sections, as seen from side A in Fig.4;

Fig. 6a is a diagrammatic illustration-of four consecutive steps of the tower erection;

Fig. 7 is a view of an adjustable leg of the base supporting the erection frame and the tower;

Fig. 8 is a side view similar to that of Fig. 6, but taken from side B of the erection frame, and showing .two joined tower sections;

Fig. 9 is a further side view of the erection frame, taken from side C in Fig. 4.;

Fig. 10 is a top view of the section;

Fig. 11 is a side view of .a tower section;

Fig. 12 is a top view, showing a locking device connecting two tower sections;

Fig. 13 is a front view of the locking device shown in Fig. 12.;

Fig. 14 is a section along line 14-14 ofFig. 13;

Fig. 15 shows a knurled bushing, partly in section, insertable into the flanges of tower section tie members;

Fig. 16 shows the upper ends of two guy lineswand clamps securing the same to a tower section;

Fig. 17 is a top view taken along line 17-47 of Fig. 16;

Fig. 18 is aside view showing aguy line winch and the anchor connecting the guy line to the ground;

:Fig. 19 is a top view of the reflector support on the uppermost section; and

Fig. 20 is a side view of Fig. 19, with a reflector shown thereon in dot-dash lines.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the various views of the drawings.

Referring now in more detail to the various figures, Fig. 1 shows, diagrammatically, a sectional tower erected by means of the novel frame in accordance with this in- A triangular base 30 supports triangular sections 31 which are connected to and above each other in a manner which will be more fully described hereinafter. Guy lines 32 are connected to the ground and to sections 31 at certain intervals and prevent lateral movement of the erected tower. The levels at which said guy lines .32

uppermost triangular tower are attached to sections 31 are given by way of example .and to facilitate the understanding of the drawings, only,

it being understood that their number and the distances between points of connection of the guy lines to the tower sections may be varied as the circumstances should re- In Fig. 1, the lower three sets of guy lines are 24 .feet apart, i. e. their points of connection to the various sections forming the tower are 24 feet below each other and their other ends are secured 10 the ground also 24 feet distant from each other. The uppermost sections connections shown in Fig. 1 are at the 102 feet level, there also being six guy lines instead of only three at the lower levels, this being intended to increase the A reflector 33 is shown diagrammatically, mounted at :the

top 30f the tower to show one of the many uses of this novelztower. t

Fig. 2 is a section along line 22 in Fig. 1 between the uppermost section and the reflector mounted thereon,

ing downwardly, and shows another tower sectionwith three guy lines 32d, 322 and 32 extending to the ground radially from the three joints 31d, 31c and 31f of the tower section 31. The guy lines at the 48v and 24 feet levels are arranged similarly as those at the 72 feet level shown in Fig. 3.

Referring now to Fig. 5, there is shown the base or support of the tower, comprising three radially joined U-shaped iron bars a, 35b and 350, which are kept above the ground by three legs 37a, 37b and 37c, as better shown in Fig. 7, which is a cross-section taken along line 77 of Fig. 5. In Fig. 7, leg 37a has welded to the lower end thereof, as shown at 46a, a circular plate 36a of a relatively large diameter. Leg 37a is externally threaded and carries an internally threaded ring 38a with handle bars 39a, 39a. Ring 38a may be rotated by said handles 39a, 39a and the whole structure lowered or raised thereby. Leg 37a protrudes through an opening through and above the U-shaped bar 35a, and into the lower tubular end 52a of the lowermost section 31. A ring 40a is welded, as shown at 42a, to the bar 35a around the opening for leg 37a and is of a diameter such as to permit an easy fit of the end 52a of section 31 around leg 37a and within said ring 40a. A stub 41b is shown welded at 43b to the U-bar 35a to be received in the lower end of one upright 34b of the erection frame 34. Since the erection frame 34, as will be more fully explained hereinafter, consists of three sides A, B, C, each side comprising two uprights 34a, 34a; 34b, 34b; and 346, 34c, there are two studs 41 on each of the U-bars 35.

When the site for the erection of the tower has been selected, the ground is cleared of weeds and the like, and the base 35 resting on the shoulders of rings 38a, 38b and 380 on legs 37a, 37b and 370 placed thereon. Then the erection frame 34, consisting of three walls, is placed on studs 41a 41c, as shown in Fig. 5. The three side walls A, B and C of the erection frame 34 are then secured to each other as shown, for example, in Fig, 4 at 47a,'47b and 47c. To facilitate the understanding of the description and by way of example only, the height of the erection frame is given as being 10 feet, and the height of one tower section is 6 feet. In other words, when the first tower section is placed within the erection frame, its upper end is below the upper end of the frame, but when said section is lifted and another section placed underneath the same, then the upper end of said first section protrudes out of and above the erection frame. Thus, it may be seen that the method of erecting sectional towers consists in inserting within said erection frame the uppermost tower section first, lifting this section sufiiciently to place the next section beneath the same, lowering the uppermost section on said next following section, joining the uppermost section to the section below it, lifting the thus joined uppermost and the next sections sufficiently to place the third section below the joined first two-sections, securing said third sect-ion at its upper end to the lower end of the second section, etc. The reflector or the like is secured to the upper end of the first section when the second section is placed below said first section and said first section protrudes above the upper end of the erection frame. Also, the guy lines are secured to the selected sections when said sections have been lifted by the next following sections outside and above the erection frame. Platform 48 which is at a distance above the ground permitting the worker standing thereon to easily reach the sections outside and above the erection frame, facilitates the attachment of guy lines and the mounting of the reflector onto the top of the first section. When the last section, i. e. the lowermost section has been secured with its upper end to the lower end of the penultimate section, the erection frame is opened at one or more of its joints 47 and removed from the base 30 by lifting the walls of the frame off studs 41. If the tower is to be erected only temporarily, then the erection frame may be left around the tower until the latter is desired to be disassembled and moved to another site.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the drawings, the three walls of the erection frame will hereinafter be referred to as walls A, B and C. As mentioned before, each wall comprises two vertical uprights, spaced apart by connecting braces, Fig. 4 shows side A as carrying a removable guide bar 49, which is attached to the two uprights 34a and 34a. This guide bar is made removable to permit, when removed, the insertion of a tower section 31 within the erection frame 34 (see Fig. 6). The guide bar 49 is provided with rollers 51a, 51a which guide the uprights 52a, 520 of the inserted tower section during its upward movement within the erection frame. Similar rollers are provided on horizontal braces 53a and 54a of the side A of the erection frame 34.

Referring now to Fig. 8, there is shown side B of the erection frame 34. This side B carries a platform 48 attached pivotally to a horizontal brace 49b and having its outer ends suspended from another horizontal brace 53b by chains 55. Platform 48 may be pivoted upwardly around brace 49b and secured to the upper horizontal brace 53b by means of hooks 56 and pins 57 when said erection frame is being disassembled and transported. Rollers 51b, 51b are provided on horizontal braces 49!) and 54b to guide uprights 52a and 52b of tower section 31.

The upper horizontal brace 54b has secured thereto one or more eye bolts 58 by means of nuts 59. The purpose of these eye bolts will be described hereinafter.

Fig. 6a shows diagrammatically the four essential steps in the method of tower erection. Diagram I shows the base support, the assembled erection frame thereon, and one section within the erection frame resting on the support. Diagram II shows the section lifted somewhat above its own height so as to permit the insertion of the next section into the erection frame. Diagram III shows the lifted first section and the next section inserted into the frame, and, finally, Diagram IV illustrates the step wherein the upper section is lowered onto the lower section and joined thereto. It may be seen from this illustration, and more particularly from Diagram IV, that the upper section is sufliciently lifted so as to permit an easy mounting of the reflector or the like thereon, or to attach the guy cables to its uprights. Thus, the crew is not required to ascend higher than to the platform 48 in order to erect and anchor the tower, an operation which previously required climbing to considerable heights on provisional scaffolds substantially to the top of'the erected structure.

Fig. 9 shows the side C of the disassemblable erecting frame 34. i It consists of two vertical uprights 34c and 340, spaced apart by three horizontal braces 49c, 53c and 54c. Braces 49c and 530 support a winch 60 of known make and design. A sheave wheel 62 is mounted on the uppermost horizontal brace 54c, substantially in vertical alignment with the drum 63 of winch 60. The rollers 51 on horizontal braces 49c and 54c keep the uprights 52b and 52c of the tower section 31 in desired position during the lifting thereof by means of winch 60.

A tower section 31 is shown in Fig. 11. This section comprises three vertical uprights 52a, 52b and52c connected by means of horizontal braces 64a, 65a, 66a; 64b, 65b, 66b; and 640, 65c, 66c. Diagonal braces 67a-c and 68a-c, and short horizontal braces 69a-c and 70a-c lend additional stability to the tower section 31.

Tubular tower section tie members 71a-c are welded tower section.

bn to the tower section uprights ,SZd-oclos .to their lower ends .50 that t e ends .of uprights protrude through said tic members in order tobe fitted into similar tie members welded to the upper ends of the uprights of thelower Such tie members '72a-c are shown in Fig. jll at the top of uprights ,SZa-c and drawn to an enlarged sca' le,in Figs. 13 and 14, wherein it may beseen that said tie members .72a-c are-welded thereto in a manner to form a ring extending ,above the upper ends of said uprights into which the extending lower ends of the uprights of the next higher tower section may fit. Eye bolts 44 are used for fastening the tower sections .together, said .eye bolts 414Ibeing screwed intothe inwardly extendingfl'anges 73a-c and .7.4a.c.,of the .upperand lower set .oftie members, respectively. These eye bolts 44 pass through coarse knurled bushings 45 'in the flanges 73a-c and 7441-0. One such bushing is shown enlarged in Fig. 15.

' Figs. 12, 13 and 14 show .the manner in which one tower section is tied to the next tower section. Fig. 12 is a top view of a locking device showing, as viewed downwardly from line 12-12 ;in 13, the :lower end of a tower section upright.5 2a, tie member 71a with its flange 73a, a knurled bushing 45 in flange 73a, and an eye bolt 44 passing therethrough. .Fig. 13 shows the lower end of upright 52a of the :towersection p31 fitted into the upper end of the upright .of ,the next following tower section, showing the tie :member 72a forming .an annulus into which the protruding lower end of the upper upright is fitted. Fig. 14 is .a section ,along line 14-14 in Fig. 13.

Fig. .110 is a top view of the uppermost tower section showing the guy lines 320 and 3.20 in dot-and-dash lines, extending tangentially from tower section .upright 52c. Figs. 16 and 17 show in more detail a connection of two guy lines 32c and 32c to theupright 52c. Two clamps 75 and "75" are frictional'ly held to upright 520 by bolts 76 and nuts 77. The .end of each guy line is introduced between the two clamps 75 and 75 around bolt .76 and .is folded over itself and suitably locked at 78. Thimbles '79 protect the cable from wear around bolts 76.

Fig. .18 shows in more detail a guy line winch 80 and .the manner in which a guy line is anchored to the ground.

Anchor '83 is driven into the ground at an angle corresponding to that between the ground surface and the guy line 320'. Guy line 32c passes under the sheave wheel .81, which is mounted on an upright 84, onto the drum 85 of winch 80. Handle '82 operates the winch to slacken the guy line or to increase its tension. This winch 80 is supported between upright 84 and anchor shaft 86 and is of a well known design.

Fig. 19 is a view of a support 87 for reflector 33 consisting of three radially joined tubes 87a-c, joined to the upper tie members 72a-c of the uppermost tower section 31 by means of bolts 88 and nuts 89. Short vertical uprights 90a-c, welded or otherwise secured to support 87 support reflector 33 by means of screws and bolts 91 and 92, respectively, as shown in Fig. 20, which is a side view of Fig. 19.

Figs. 5, 6, 8 and 9 show a cradle unit 93 consisting of a tripod support 94 supporting two sheave wheels 95 and 96, suitably spaced by and rotatable in a U-shaped member 97. This U-member 97 is suspended from tripod 94 by bolt 98 and nut 99. Eye bolts 100a-c are secured to the three extremities of tripod 94 by nuts 101a-c. Short chains 102a-c, attached in pairs to the eyes of bolts 100a-c carry at their lower ends hooks 103a-c'; said hooks being suitably shaped to engage the lowermost horizontal braces 64a-c of tower section 31. There are two chains suspended from each leg of tripod 94, so that each brace 64 is engaged by two hooks 103, when the tower section 31 is intended to be lifted within the erection frame 34.

The method of erecting the tower is as follows:

After the three side walls 34A, 34B and 34C of the erection frame have been securely connected to each other, as shown at 47 the guide .bar49 on side Ajs removed and the first .tower section .31 insertedinto ,the frame. Cable 104 (Fig. 9.) is led from the drum 63 of winch 60 on side wall C upwardly around sheave wheel 62 suspended from the uppermost horizontal brace'54c and then down around sheaves 9.6 and in thatorder, and finally up to eye bolt 58on the uppcrmostsbrace 54b of side wall 34B (see Fig. '8). This cable 104 is .connected to the eye bolt 58 by means of eye .hook 105. Winch 60 comprisestwohandles, pumping handle 61 and rotatably mounted handle 106 (see Fig. 4,). When the cradle unit 93 with the tower section 31 is desired to be lifted, handle 61 is operated to rotate the drum 63 of Winch 60, and handle 106 is operated when the drum 63 is rotated in the opposite direction to lower the tower section or sections 31 onto the next section below, inside the frame 34.

The construction of winch '60 is of .known design and any other suitable winch structure may .be used for the purpose described.

By operating handle '61 of winch 60, the inserted tower section 31 is lifted sufiic'iently to insert the next tower section into the erection frame 34, i. e. the first tower section has to belifted somewhat more than 6 feet, reference being bad to the heights of tower sections and of the erection frame given for purposes of illustration only hereinabove. During the upward movement of the vtower section 31, the section glides between rollers 51 mounted on the horizontal braces 49 53 and 54 .of the erection frame side walls 34A, 34B and 34C. It may be seen in Fig. 6 that the removable :bar 49 is reinserted after the tower section 31 hasbeen placedinto the frame. After said first tower section has been lifted sufficiently, i. c. more than 6 feet, removable bar 49 is removed again and the next tower section placed into erection frame 34. The upper tower section is then lowered so as to .fit the lower ends of uprights 52a-c onto the upper ends of the .lower tower section within tie members 72a-c. Three .eyebolts 44 are screwed through knurled bushings 45 of the-upper and lower tie members '71a-c and 72a-c, respectively, to firmly connect the two tower sections.

Handle 10.6 of winch 60 is then operated again to further lower the cradle unit 93 in order to be .ableto disengage hooks 103 from horizontal braces 64 of the upper tower section. Eye hook 105 is removed from-eye bolt 58 and the cradle unit 93 attached to the lower horizontal braces 64 of the lower tower section to repeat the procedure described above. When the first and second tower sections have been securely joined, the upper end of the upper section protrudes above the erection frame sufiiciently to enable the workers standing on platform 48 to mount the reflector 33 with its support 87 onto the upper tower section. Also, the guy lines 32 are attached to the upper tower section at this time in the manner shown in Figs. 16 and 17. The next set of guy lines is attached to the tower section No. 6, their number in Fig. 1 being only three, and the other two sets of guy lines being attached to sections Nos. 10 and 14, respectively, again reference being had to Fig. 1 of the drawing.

The anchorages and winches shown in Fig. 18 are usually required only for the uppermost array of guy lines, i. e. those attached to the uppermost tower section 31. The lower sets of guy lines may be attached to the ground in any other suitable manner. It: is understood that the guy lines 32 may be attached to the uprights 52 of the various tower sections closely below the upper tie members 72, as diagrammatically shown in Fig. 1, or close to the lower ends of diagonal braces 68, as seen in dot-dash lines in Fig. 11. Also, the angle under which the guy lines are led from the tower structure to the ground may be varied, and a winch 80 with anchor 83 may be provided for the end of each guy line. Some tensioning or slackening of the guy lines may also be obtained by the raising or lowering of rings 38 on legs of the tower base.

As stated above, the tower erection frame, after the last tower section and the penultimate tower section have been joined, may be removed from the base 35 by opening one or more locks 47 connecting the side walls 34A, 34B and 34C. However, the erection frame will preferably be left on support 35 if the tower was intended to be used for a shorter time period only. Then, the erection frame 34 with its winch 60 and cradle unit 93 will be used for disassembling the tower structure 'in analogous manner The tower sections and the erection frame could be made of four or more side walls with only slight modifications in the tower section lifting equipment.

When the tower is erected to the desired height, the bottom section may be fastened to the base with the eye bolt 44 and a nut, and the base anchored with steel stakes 108 (shown in Fig. 1) driven through holes 107 of base 35 (see Fig. 5).

It is believed that the erection frame of this invention, its mode of assembly and its purposes and many advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the'structural details are capable of wide variations within the scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An erection frame for assembling an elevated sec tional structure consisting of a plurality of sections joined end-to-end, comprising in combination, a plurality of 'removably connected vertical walls, said walls being of a height in excess of the height of one of the sections of said structure and less than the combined, height of a pair of such sections, and said walls enclosing a space adapted for reception of one section of said structure in upright position, said walls corresponding in number to the number of walls of said sections, means attached to said frame for lifting a section in said space, roller means extending into said space for guiding an inserted section upwardly within said frame when said lifting means is being operated, and a platform member attached to one of said walls exteriorly of said frame, whereby the upper end of a'section lifted within said frame for more than the height thereof is within reach of an operator standing on said platform.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means for lifting a section in said space in said frame, includes a cradle unit, a winch outside of said erection frame for lifting or lowering said cradle unit within said frame, said connected to said frame at a height in excess of the height of one of said sections. within said frame, and a cable connection from said winch through said cable guiding means, through said cradle unit and to said cable end receiving means, said winch operating in such a manner that a section within said frame may be lifted in vertical direction a distance in excess of its own height and thereupon lowered a distance to abut the upper end of the next lower section inserted into said frame.

3. In an erection frame for assembling elevated sectional structures consisting of aplurality of equal superposed sections joined end-to-end, a plurality of vertical walls, the number of said walls corresponding to the number of walls of said sections, said frame walls enclosing'a space sufficient for reception of a section of said structure in upright position, the height of said walls being substantially in excess of the height of a section and less than the combined height of a pair of sections, roller means attached to said frame for guiding the sections inserted into said frame in upward direction, a winch secured to the exterior of one of said walls, at least one sheave and at least one cable end receiving member secured to said frame at a height in excess of the height of one of said sections, wall connecting means between each of said frame forming walls for rigidly connecting the same, and a removable member in one of said frame walls adapted to provide an opening for insertion of one section into said frame.

4. An erection frame according to claim 3, wherein each of said walls consists of a plurality of rigidly connected vertical uprights spaced by a plurality of braces, one of said braces in one of said walls forming said removable member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED, STATES PATENTS France Nov. 29, 1926 

